Microsoft allows its users to download a copy of Windows to install on PCs. However, when you enter the key after the installation and you got the Activation Error 0xC004F212 instead, then it means that the license key and the Windows version you’ve just installed, do not match.
When you encounter this error, you will see the following error message on your screen:
“The product key used on this PC didn’t work with this edition of Windows. Activation Error 0xC004F212.”
Every time Microsoft generates a license for a copy of Windows, it is associated with one particular Windows variant. Windows comes in many editions like Enterprise, Home, Professional, and so on. For instance, if you bought a license for Windows 10 Enterprise but you have installed Windows 10 Professional instead, then the activation will surely fail and you’ll encounter the Activation Error 0xC004F212.
You will be asked to select which edition you want to install when you reinstall Windows 10 using a digital license. If you opted for an edition other than the one you are licensed to use, then you will most likely get the Activation Error 0xC004F212. If you have purchased your license key from a store or some website, you might want to check back with them about the exact version of Windows. Doing so will help you narrow down the problem. And if you have second thoughts about the license key’s validity, you can just reach out to a Microsoft Support agent to check the validity of the license key.
Also, if have bought it from the store, there should be an option to get a refund. That way you can choose to buy the right version of Windows.
Option 1 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter
The first thing you can do to resolve the Activation Error 0xC004F212 is to run the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter. To do so, follow these steps:
Go to Settings and then select Activation.
After that, click on the Windows Activation and then troubleshoot. This will help you address most of the commonly found activation issues in Windows devices.
The Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter will determine if your license key is a valid Windows 10 digital license for an edition that is not currently installed. If it turns out that it’s not, then the troubleshooter will show you how to install the correct edition.
Option 2 – Try forcing Windows 10 ISO to use the right version
You can also try to force Windows 10 ISO to use the correct version depending on the product key. Note that this option only works between Windows 10 Home and Professional version since they both have a common ISO. So if it’s Enterprise, then this option won’t work for you.
Extract the Windows 10 ISO files using an extractor.
Then browse to the folder you created and go to the sources folder.
From there, you need to create a text file named “PID.txt” and make sure to follow the exact format given below:
[PID]
Value=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Note: “xxxxx” is the KEY to your Windows version.
Next, you need to create the ISO again or bootable media that will repack everything and then create the Media file. You can use the Media Creation tool for this.
Note: Windows will check the key during the installation and will figure out the right version of Windows.
Option 3 – Contact Microsoft Support for assistance
If you’re at your wits’ end in trying to update your Windows 10 computer, you should consider contacting Microsoft Support for help as they can offer you various options that would make fixing Windows Activation Error 0xC004F212 a lot easier and faster.
Connapi.dll is a type of dynamic link library file. This file contains small programs like any other DLL file and is called to load certain programs on your PC. The Connapi.dll error message occurs either when using or installing programs.
This error message is displayed in either of the following messages:
“Connapi.dll Not Found""This application failed to start because connapi.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.""The file connapi.dll is missing.""Cannot start [APPLICATION]. A required component is missing: connapi.dll. Please install [APPLICATION] again.""Cannot find [PATH]connapi.dll"
Solution
Error Causes
Connapi.dll error may occur due to numerous reasons on your PC. The most common causes include:
Missing Connapi.dll file
Corruption of the Connapi.dll file
Driver Issues
Viral Infection
Registry Issues such as bad and invalid entries
This error may hamper your ability to access your desired programs causing you a great deal of inconvenience. And if the underlying cause of the error is related to the registry, then your computer can be at serious risks like system failure and crash.
Further Information and Manual Repair
To resolve Connapi.dll error code on your PC, here is a list of solutions. These are easy, very simple to perform, deliver the best results, and more importantly require no technical expertise.
Solution 1: Check your Recycle Bin - You May Have Deleted the File Accidentally
As dll files are shared files, it is possible that you accidentally deleted the Connapi.dll file while uninstalling a program from your system. In such a situation, go to the recycle bin and look for the file.
If you find the missing Connapi.dll file, simply restore it and then try running your desired program again. If the program runs, then the error is resolved. However, if it still persists, then try other solutions given below.
Solution 2: Update the Drivers
Try updating drivers for hardware devices on the system. To do this, go to the start menu and then Control Panel. Double click on Add or Remove programs icon.
Now select incompatible drivers and remove them. After that, restart your PC to activate changes. Now go to the manufacturers’ website to download new drivers and install them on your PC.
Solution3: Scan for Viruses
Another solution is to scan for viruses and malware. Sometimes these can also damage and corrupt dll files on your system. To perform a scan, simply download a powerful antivirus program and run it.
Solution 4: Clean and Restore the Registry
If the error code is still there, then this means the problem is triggered by the registry issues. To resolve it you must clean the registry and remove all the unnecessary and obsolete files like junk files, internet history, temporary files, and cookies.
The best way to clean these files instantly is to install Restoro. This is an advanced, cutting-edge, and multi-functional PC Fixer. It has a user-friendly interface and is integrated with powerful utilities like a registry cleaner, anti-virus, and a system optimizer. It is compatible with all Windows versions.
The registry cleaning feature scans your entire PC in seconds and detects all the registry issues. It removes all the bad registry entries and unnecessary files. Simultaneously, it also fixes the system files and dll files like Connapi.dll.
The anti-virus utility removes all types of malicious software on your system while the system optimizer utility ensures your system performs at its optimum speed.
To resolve Connapi.dll error, click here to download Restoro.
It really sucks when you can’t fully enjoy the newest version of your favorite OS.
Windows 11 is still relatively fresh and consequently has some annoying little bugs that really ruin our experience. The good news is that you’re not alone and most of them are easy to fix.
Here are 5 commonly reported Windows 11 issues and what you can do to get rid of them.
1. Windows 11 audio problems
One of the absolute most irritating things in the world is struggling with the sound on your computer. Windows 11 users have reported facing the issue of low or no sound. If you’re currently experiencing the same frustration, you can be relieved. Chances are fixing it will only take a few minutes.
The first thing to check would be whether you accidentally muted your device by pressing the mute button on your keyboard. Yes, we know it sounds a lot like the old “have you tried turning it off and on again?” But it’s important to leave no stone unturned, and the most obvious things are usually the ones we easily overlook.
Moreover, if you have several audio output sources, check whether the right one is selected. You can do this via the Action Center or through Settings. If you want to use the same source every time, we also recommend you set it as the default one.
It’s also important to have a good, up-to-date audio driver. More often than not, this will be the true cause of your audio struggles. Make sure to update your driver, and if that doesn’t work out, you can always un- and reinstall it or install a different one.
Lastly, if all attempts remain unsuccessful, run the audio troubleshooter to figure out what’s actually going wrong.
2. Unable to find files
Such a powerful new operating system, yet it can’t seem to do the simplest thing imaginable? The File Explorer not responding on Windows 11 is one of the most frustrating and most common problems with Microsoft’s newest iteration of its awesome OS.
However, 9/10 times it can be fixed by simply restarting your PC. You could also try killing the Windows Explorer process in the Task Manager and then rerunning it.
If these don’t help, check whether there are any pending Windows 11 updates. A single missing update can compromise your PC’s functionality, so always make sure to install them all on time.
Should none of that work, then there are other ways to solve the File Explorer problem. However, then the issue is probably a bit deeper and it’s no longer in the ‘easy fix’ territory.
3. Start menu not working
Just like the File Explorer, the Start menu is a fundamental element of your OS. So, it’s only natural that its malfunction grinds your gears. It may be more customizable than on previous Windows versions, but it doesn’t always work smoothly.
If you’re facing the so-called Start menu critical error, there are a few things this could be caused by. Usually it means you turned off your system while an important update was still being installed, there is a corrupt file on your PC, or Windows forcefully stopped a program.
Whatever the reason, the solution should be pretty simple. Try the basic steps: restarting your File Explorer (like we explained above) and signing out and back into your account. If that doesn’t do anything, you may want to try uninstalling third-party start menu apps (if you have any), since they can interfere with your default programs’ functionality.
Now, those are the easy fixes. If you get nowhere with them, you might need to identify the root cause and search for more complex solutions than that.
4. Snipping tool not working
Our beloved screenshot tool was introduced with Windows 10 and Microsoft decided to keep it. However, you were probably just as disappointed as us when you tried to run it and failed.
Normally, this can be fixed by installing the latest Out-of-band (OOB) update, or even pending updates in general. Even if your system appears to be up-to-date, run the checker just in case.
Another cool thing Windows 11 lets you do is ‘Repair’ and ‘Reset’, which is the easiest way to troubleshoot your Snipping tool. If this fails, you can also try the good old un- and reinstall method. Simply uninstall the tool through the Control Panel and reinstall it from the Microsoft Store.
Furthermore, in the case of an upgrade from Windows 10 to 11, it may be that the old Snipping tool version is interfering with the launch of the new one. If you don’t care that much about the additional options available with the enhanced screenshot tool, you can use the old version instead.
Simply go to your C Drive, find the Windows.old folder, search for the tool and open it from there. Make sure to pin it to your taskbar as well, if you know you’re going to use it often.
5. Can’t install the latest update
The latest Windows 11 version, 22H2, has brought tons of enhancements to our dearest operating system. Unfortunately, a lot of users still haven’t had the opportunity to experience it. A mere update of your OS version should be the one thing that goes smoothly, but sometimes that’s not the case.
Failure to install 22H2 can be caused by a few things. Most commonly, the issue is caused by lack of storage space or corrupted files, but there could be other culprits.
There are a couple of things you could try. For example, it’s crucial that your drivers be up-to-date and some important services be enabled. These are: Windows Modules Installer, Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Cryptographic Service, Windows Update services.
To enable them, search ‘Services’, find the service you need and right-click on it. Open ‘Properties’ and select the startup type ‘Automatic’.
It may also be necessary to unplug all peripherals that aren’t crucial and disable third-party antivirus tools until after the update is finished.
Ultimately, you can run the Windows Update troubleshooter to detect and fix other possible issues.
Summary
Tiny bugs like these are nothing out of the ordinary. That said, we still all hate when they happen.
Hopefully some of our solutions have helped you to a smoother Windows 11 experience. But if you’re still struggling, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!
AI and neural networks are more and more being used in all parts of our lives. From face detections to deep fakes it is both amusing and frightening to watch at the same time.
From some really bad uses of neural networks and AI overall, looking at you deep fakes, upscaling videos or images are mostly harmless pieces of work not harming anyone.
There is one cool YouTube channel, well there are more but this one seems to have most of the videos on it and if I am wrong I apologize.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC33rC3GO1UZFAkMcCCwjyWg
So upscale is like previously mentioned a YouTube channel that hosts old game trailers and into videos but in full 4K or 8K video resolution, fully upscaled using neural networks.
There are some videos that are not maybe top-notch but the large quantity of them is pretty well upscaled and they do indeed look great.
So if you have some time and want that old nostalgia fix, go and check it out. You might find something that will bring that old you out and you might even drop a smile or two remembering old good days, I know I have.
There are a lot of reasons to ban or block different websites in your Windows. From wanting to limit yourself from distraction to block certain sites for sake of kids not going into them. Whatever your reason might be, keep reading in order to find out how you can block any website inside Windows for all browsers.
The technique I am going to share with you is universal and not tied to Windows versions, they will work in any Windows from XP onward. Also, the technique will block desired websites on any browser, already installed or even ones that will be installed after doing the trick. And we will also be looking at applications that can help you in this task if you do not wish to do it manually.
Block websites using dedicated software
A small free application called Focal Filter which can be found here: https://www.focalfilter.com/ is a software solution for your needs. It is a pretty straightforward and easy-to-understand application and not really much can be said here about it. You simply download and install it, set your websites, and you are done, the app does rest.
Blocking manually via host file
Another method besides mentioned one using the dedicating application is to manually set site addresses inside the Windows host file.
The first thing, of course, is to open the host file, run a notepad with administrator privileges, go to file open, and navigate to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.
Once the file is opened go all the way down and add:
127.0.0.1 SITENAME
For example: 127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com or 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
This way each time user on a PC tries to access a listed website computer will reroute it to the given address which is your PC's local address and asked website will not be able to load.
For a while now, Microsoft has been working hard to add various built-in troubleshooters in Windows 10. In fact, there is a troubleshooter for almost every standard or common error in Windows 10. And now with the newly released Windows 10 v1903, Microsoft has added the Recommended Troubleshooting which allows Windows 10 to automatically fix a lot of critical issues on your computer, and in this post, you will be guided on how you can turn on or off the Recommended Troubleshooting in Windows 10.
The Microsoft Diagnostic & Feedback data only provides two settings – Basic and Full. So if you want to turn off the Recommended Troubleshooting for some reason, the only way to do so is to stop it from collecting complete data from your PC. And to turn it on or off, you can choose to switch between them. To do that, navigate to Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback and from there, select Basic under the Diagnostic Data section. After that, go back to Settings and go to Update & security > Troubleshoot. Once you’re there, you should see a warning message saying, “Share Full Diagnostic data to get additional troubleshooting recommendations”. Based on the message, Microsoft will only offer the recommended troubleshooting based on the Full Diagnostic data which it collects from your computer.
On the other hand, if you know how to navigate and use the Windows Registry, then you can enable or disable the Recommended Troubleshooting via Registry Editor but before you proceed, make sure that you create a System Restore point. Once that’s covered, follow these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoft
From there, look for the key named “WindowsMigration”. If you can’t find it, just right-click on the left pane and create a new key and then name it “WindowsMigration”.
After that, create a DWORD “UserPreference” and double click on it to set its value to “0” if you want to turn it off or “1” if you want to turn it on.
Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made.
Note: The Recommended Troubleshooting functionality can look into the error logs sent back to the Microsoft team and use an algorithm to set up a solution for you and they’re nothing but Diagnostics and Feedback data that Windows collects and sends back to Microsoft. Moreover, the recommendations are only visible if you are connected to the internet, else it will show the same message.
Kindle is, without doubt, a great piece of hardware, perhaps it is the closest thing to a book within the domain of digital devices. With its low price and usability, it has found itself in many homes and within the grasp of many readers in the world. You can buy digital books in the Amazon store for fraction of a regular price if it digital Kindle edition. You keep your library in the cloud and download just books you want to read on your device.
In this article, we will explore how you can send your existing PDF or any other supported file that you already have to your kindle device so you can read it on it.
Before we begin, you should make sure the file you're trying to convert is compatible with the Kindle:
HTML
RTF
JPEG
GIF
PNG
BMP or
PDF
The compatible file types cover most formats you're likely using, but if you find the document you want on your Kindle isn't compatible, there are a few ways to convert it. In the program it typically opens into, like Microsoft Word for .doc files or an image editing apps for .PNG ones, select 'Save As', and in the drop-down menu, see if any of the compatible options are available.
If not, you could try a PDF converter tool. There are plenty of great paid options and a few good free ones too.
Transfering PDF
To get a PDF on a Kindle, you're going to need to know your Kindle's email address. You'll need to head over to the Amazon website and sign in first. Select 'Your devices and content', click 'Manage Devices'. You should see a list of the books you have assigned to your Kindle account, above this list, in a toolbar should be some options - you'll currently be on 'Content', which should be followed by 'Devices', 'Preferences' and 'Privacy Settings'. Click on 'Devices', and in the next menu, select the option for the Kindle you want the document on. You'll be brought to a Device Summary page which tells you your Kindle email as well as the type of device it is.
You now need to approve your personal email, so that when the Kindle receives your PDF, it knows to download this. Make sure the email you approve is the one you're planning to send documents to your Kindle from otherwise it won't work. To approve your email address follow the steps for finding your Kindle email address but instead of selecting 'Devices' in the top bar, click 'Preferences'.
Scroll down this list until you find Personal Document Settings, and select this option so it expands into more options. From here, scroll down until you find 'Approved Personal Document E-mail List'. This list will show people who can email stuff to your Kindle, Below the emails is an option to 'Add a new approved e-mail address', which you should select. Enter your email address and click 'Add address' to get yourself approved.
Head over to your email client of choice, attach the file to an email, and send the email to your Kindle email address. You're able to send multiple documents at once, so if you have loads of files you want on your Kindle, you don't need to send separate emails. If you're sending over a PDF file, you can ask Amazon to automatically convert the file into a Kindle one, which lets you annotate the sections and change the font size. Simply put the word 'convert' as the subject line and the rest will be handled for you. 'Sync Your Kindle'.
One of the most common ways cybercriminals use to inject suspicious code into devices is by tricking users into installing a malicious program on a targeted device. Oblivious users are vulnerable to such tricks, which is why Microsoft has been working hard in the background to address this issue. Recently, Microsoft announced the availability of a sandboxed version of Windows 10 that runs inside Windows 10 in order to isolate suspected software to run inside it and protect the system from potential threats.
This Windows Sandbox feature is a new feature that keeps your computer secure. It is a virtual disposable environment that you can enable. So if suspect any software of being malicious, you can run this software in an environment and ensure that it won’t interfere with any normal processes and would not jeopardize files on your computer. To simply put it, “Windows Sandbox is a new lightweight desktop environment tailored for safely running applications in isolation”. So if the Sandbox is closed, all the residual files, software, and other data are deleted permanently. To enable Windows Sandbox, refer to the instructions provided below.
Step 1: You have to make sure that you are running either Windows 10 Enterprise Editions or Windows 10 Pro and that your computer is running build 18305 or newer.
Step 2: After that, you have to enable Virtualization to let another instance of Windows 10 running in Sandbox mode.
Step 3: Next, search for Windows Features on and off in the search box and then select the appropriate entry.
Step 4: From the list, go to the mini window and check the Windows Sandbox and then click on OK.
Step 5: Afterwards, in the Cortana Search box, search for “Windows Sandbox” and select the related entry to run it in an elevated window.
Step 6: Then from your main computer (host), copy the executable file and paste it inside the Windows Sandbox environment.
Step 7: Now run the executable file in the Sandbox environment and use it as you normally do.
Step 8: Once you’re done, close the Windows Sandbox application and as mentioned, every data regarding the executable file and the temporary environment will be deleted.
Step 9: And for the sake of safety, ensure that there are no modifications made to the host because of the executions in the Sandbox environment.
You have the option to contact Microsoft for feedback related to Windows Sandbox. You can use the traditional Feedback Hub if you have any suggestions or any issues. Just fill in the appropriate details and select Windows Sandbox for the feature category under the Security and Privacy section. And if you have any issues related to the execution of and within Windows Sandbox, simply choose “Recreate my problem” then select Start capture to reproduce the issue, and once you’re done, select Stop capture.
As the name implies the AppCrash error is an error code that indicates a crashed program/application on your system.
This term is used by Windows to designate an application crash. It is reported and displayed on the system as “Problem Event Name: AppCrash,” which is followed by additional technical information which unless you are a computer programmer, you may not fully decode.
There are various symptoms that trigger the occurrence of this error code on your system such as:
Application becoming unresponsive and intermittent
Momentary application freezing
Application times out and then successfully recovers itself
Solution
Error Causes
The reason for AppCrash error occurrence cannot be narrowed down to a specific cause. This error code is triggered by multiple causes such as:
The system is stressed out. This happens when your CPU is held at 100% usage for an unacceptable length of time.
Lack of system resources
Windows version incompatibility with the application
Malware and viral infection
Poor PC maintenance
Registry damage and corruption
Data overload
No matter what the cause for the AppCrash error may be, if you experience this error on your system you must repair it right away before the damage sets in. This is a serious error posing severe consequences.
If not repaired on time, it not only hampers your ability to use your desired application but also exposes your PC to fatal crashes, data loss, and system failure.
Further Information and Manual Repair
Though this is a serious Windows error, the good news is that it is an easy-to-fix error code, so resolving it is not a problem.
There are three ways to fix the AppCrash error:
Hiring a technician, this by the way is quite costly. You may have to pay hundreds of dollars to get professional assistance to fix this error code.
Giving your computer adequate rest to cool down. Stressing out your PC heats the hardware which triggers such errors and eventually results in system failure. Try cooling it, and see if it fixes the error.
Downloading Restoro. This is by far the best, simple, quick, and money-saving way to resolve the AppCrash error on your system. Restoro is an innovative, performance-driven and multi-functional user-friendly PC Fixer that helps resolve practically all types of PC-related errors including the AppCrash error. It has an intuitive and powerful in-built registry cleaner which scans and detects all types of registry issues on your PC in seconds. It helps you clear up all the unnecessary files saved on your hard disk like junk files, internet history, invalid entries and files from the programs that you’ve uninstalled.
Such files not only occupy a lot of disk space but they also lead to registry damage and corruption thus shooting error code pop-ups like the AppCrash error.
Restoro features
Restoro performs an in-depth scan and removes all these files cluttering the system and repairs the damaged registry. It resolves the error AppCrash and simultaneously boosts the speed of your PC making it easy for you to access and run applications fast and smoothly without any application errors.
Sometimes malicious software programs like malware and viruses may also damage and corrupt the registry. If the underlying cause of the AppCrash error is a viral infection on your PC corrupting the registry, then don’t worry;
Restoro, with the help of its built-in anti-virus program, resolves it too. It scans for viruses on your system and removes them immediately.
Restoro is easy to use. Whether you are a novice or an experienced user, working around this PC Fixer is simple. It has a user-friendly interface that allows users to navigate through it without any hassle.
In addition to this, it offers enhanced compatibility. It smoothly runs on all Windows versions.
Get Restoro
To get started, all you need to do is Click here to download Restoro. Once it is installed on your system, run it to scan for registry issues like the AppCrash error.
This intuitive tool will detect all the errors on your PC in just a few seconds and display them on your Windows screen in the form of a comprehensive scan report. Now simply hit the repair tab to resolve.
Once repairing is successfully complete, try running your desired application.
You will notice two significant differences:
No AppCrash error code message pop-ups
The application runs fast and smoothly regardless of whether it’s Windows Media Player or any gaming application.
As you know, Windows has a built-in Automatic Maintenance feature that takes care of important tasks such as security scanning and updating, Windows software updates, Disk Defragmentation, System Diagnostics, Disk Volume Errors, and many more. So if you receive an error message saying, “Windows is unable to run automatic maintenance, The maintenance schedule is unavailable”, then this post will guide you in what you can do to resolve this issue.
Here are some suggestions you can try if the Automatic Maintenance in your Windows 10 PC is not able to run.
Option 1 – Enable Automatic Maintenance
It is possible that Automatic Maintenance has been disabled so you can try enabling Automatic Maintenance on your Windows 10 PC. To do so, follow these steps:
Go to Control Panel.
From there, select System and Security > Security and Maintenance > Automatic Maintenance.
After that, set the time you want to run the Automatic Maintenance and then check the checkbox saying, “Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time”.
Click OK to save the changes.
On the other hand, you can also enable Automatic Maintenance via the Registry Editor. But before you proceed, you need to create a System Restore Point first.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Next, look for the “MaintenanceDisabled” key and then double click on it to open it and then set its value to “0”.
Click OK and exit the Registry Editor.
Restart your computer.
Option 2 – Check the Task Scheduler Services status
Majority of the tasks in Windows 10 run via services. So it is most likely that either the Service has been stopped or is set to the manual which is why Windows is unable to run Automatic Maintenance. Thus, you need to change it to automatic mode.
Tap the Win + R keys to open Run.
Type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open Services.
Next, look for the Task Scheduler service and tap the T key on your keyboard which should take you to the services that start with T.
Double click on the Task Scheduler service and select the Automatic option under the Startup Type.
If it is not started yet, click on the Start button.
Then click Apply and OK to save the changes.
Option 3 – Check the Status in Task Scheduler
You can also try checking the status in the Task Scheduler. Just open the Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > TaskScheduler. From there, make sure that Idle Maintenance, Maintenance Configurator, and Regular Maintenance are enabled.
Option 4 – Run the System File Checker
The SFC or System File Checker scan could detect and automatically repair damaged system files that could be causing the Automatic Maintenance issue. SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files with good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
Tap Win + R to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow and hit Enter.
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Option 5 – Run the DISM tool
The DISM tool is another command-line tool in the Windows operating system that could help users fix various corrupted system files. To use it, follow these steps:
Open the Command Prompt as admin.
Then type in this command: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
The DISM command you entered will repair the corrupted system image. Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.
There is a lot of high resource utilization by any process that slows down a Windows operating system and one of the services that could cause such a thing is the utcsvc.exe process. This particular process at times can cause high CPU and disk usage. So if you are currently facing this problem, read on as this post will guide you on how you can resolve the problem.
UTC which stands for Universal Telemetry Client is a software that runs a service named Diagnostic Tracking Service or DiagTrak. This service is used by Microsoft to collect customer feedback, analyze customer’s problems, and push resolution via updates in order to make the Windows 10 operating system better. This service is an executable file that could be translated to Service Host and even though the process does not usually cause problems, there are actually times when it does especially if it results in high resource utilization. In such cases, you might want to consider disabling it to fix its high CPU and disk usage.
According to Microsoft:
“We collect information about you, your devices, applications and networks, and your use of those devices, applications, and networks. Examples of data we collect include your name, email address, preferences, and interests; browsing, search and file history; phone call and SMS data; device configuration and sensor data; and application usage.”
There are several ways you can disable the utcsvc.exe process. You can disable it using the Service Manager, Registry Editor, and Group Policy Editor. For more details, refer to the instructions laid out below.
Option 1 – Disable the Connected User Experience & Telemetry Service via Service Manager
Note that this option is for standalone systems, so if you’re not using one, refer to the next given options below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “services.msc” in the field and tap Enter or click OK to open the Services Manager.
From the given list of services, look for the Connected User Experience service. Once you found it, click on it and you’ll see its description which states:
“The Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service enables features that support in-application and connected user experiences. Additionally, this service manages the event-driven collection and transmission of diagnostic and usage information (used to improve the experience and quality of the Windows Platform) when the diagnostics and usage privacy option settings are enabled under Feedback and Diagnostics.”
Next, right-click on it and select Properties.
Now, change its Startup Type to Disabled and click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
Option 2 – Disable the Connected User Experience & Telemetry Service via Registry Editor
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsDataCollection
After that, right-click on the folder named “DataCollection” and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Now name the new value “AllowTelemetry” and make sure that its Value data is “0” and then click on OK to save the changes made.
Restart your computer.
Option 3 – Disable the Connected User Experience & Telemetry Service via Group Policy Editor
If you have to disable the service related to the Universal Telemetry Client for company-managed systems, then you can do that using the Group Policy Editor.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “gpedit.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
Next, navigate to this path: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components> Data Collection and Preview Build
After that, double-click on Data Collection and Preview Build to open its settings.
From there, look for the “Allow Telemetry” item and double click on it to open its Properties.
Next, set the radio button to Disabled and then click on the Apply button to save the changes made.
Restart your computer.
Option 4 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter or the Performance Troubleshooter
Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter:
The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.
Performance Troubleshooter:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Type “exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance troubleshooter.
Then click on Next to get started. Wait until the process is completed.
Error Causes
